1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to polypeptides, i.e. chains of amino acids generally linked via peptide bonds. An aspect of this invention relates to polypeptide monomers or prepolymers containing up to nine amino acid units and chain-extended and/or crosslinked polymers of high molecular weight derived from these monomers or prepolymers. Another aspect of this invention relates to polypeptides having adhesive properties which can be cured at moderate temperatures in the presence of water or biological fluids, the curing mechanism involving either a self-cure or the introduction of an accelerator and/or a crosslinking agent. Still another aspect of this invention relates to the resulting crosslinked polypeptides and adhesive bonds obtained from them. Further aspects of this invention relate to two-part adhesive systems comprising polypeptides (part A) and a crosslinking agent or accelerator therefor (part B) and methods for using such adhesive systems in biological systems, where they are biocompatible, and in applications requiring a water-resistant adhesive bond which is biodegradable. Still another aspect of this invention relates to "hybrid" polymers having a conventional synthetic polymer backbone and amino acid sequences linked to this backbone.